Kenneth Copeland — Faith and Patience, The Power TwinsPosted by admin on July 7th, 2010
Almost everywhere you find faith mentioned in the Bible, you’ll also find patience. Faith and patience are power twins. Together, they produce every time.
Patience is a working power. When faith has a tendency to waver, it’s patience that comes to faith’s aid to make it stand. The power of patience is necessary to undergird faith. Hebrews 6:12 says, “That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” And James 1:2-4 says, “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;
knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.”
Patience without faith, however, has no power to call into reality the things desired. Since faith is the substance of things we hope for, patience without faith has no substance.
On the other hand, faith without patience many times will fail to stand firm on the evidence of the written Word that gives “title deed” to things not seen. Jesus told Peter He had prayed for him that his faith fail not. Without the power of patience at work, sense knowledge—the things we see—can overwhelm our faith that is based on what the Word of God says. Patience, then, undergirds our faith and gives it endurance to persevere until the answer comes.
Faith is a powerful force. It always works. It’s not that our faith is weak and needs strength, but without the power of patience, we stop its force from working in our lives because of our negative words and actions. It’s our faith, and we can either put it into action or stop it from working.
Traditionally, we think of patience as just “knuckling under” and being satisfied with whatever comes our way. That’s not at all what patience is. It is a real force that has to be developed. Titus 2:2 says that we are to be sound or developed in patience.
Faith also has to be developed. The same scripture says we are to be sound in faith. Patience and faith work together the way faith and love work together. Each force plays a unique role in our Christian lives.
It is dangerous to confuse the roles of these two forces, substituting one for the other. For instance, Hebrews 11:1 says that faith is the substance of things hoped for. Hope without faith has no substance. People say, “We are hoping and praying.” This sounds good, but has no substance. In this case, hope is being confused with faith. Without the substance of faith, that kind of praying will not produce results. You can see that in a critical situation this would be dangerous. We need to have our thinking straightened out according to the Bible, so we can use these forces properly and produce God’s perfect will in our lives.
One of the most common traditions and mistakes in this area of believing is that trials and tribulations develop faith. Trials and tribulations do not develop faith. Romans 10:17 says, “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Trials and tribulations develop patience. We have already learned from James 1 that this is true. The Apostle Paul says the same thing in Romans 5:3.
Kenneth Copeland Ministries